The Ministry of Haj is requiring Umrah companies to maintain an integrated database of hotel capacities in Makkah and Madina so quotas of seasonal Umrah visas can be increased. The ministry has fixed the number of the Umrah pilgrims at 900,000 at a time when local Umrah companies have asked that the number be increased to 2 million, said Chairman of the Haj and Umrah Committee in the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Saad Bin Jameel Al-Qurashi. Al-Qurashi attributed the companies' requests to their ability to ensure quality services to Umrah pilgrims and to enable the largest number of pilgrims to perform the Umrah rituals. He said crowds in the holy Haram these days are to be expected because the Rajab and Sha'ban Umrah coincides with the summer holidays. According to Al-Qurashi, 46 companies provide Umrah services and the Umrah Committee is working to lift the ban on 60 Umrah companies that were punished for violations, the most notable of which were high percentages of Umrah pilgrims who used these companies and did not leave the country on specified dates. Al-Qurashi said these companies have provided documents showing that most of them did not have high rates of overstayers. He said unintentional individual mistakes could be behind the inaccurate rates.
